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Our members-only forum can up your game and your family and friends will notice. We also block all ads from members, members get sneak peek at Meathead's book in progress, there are more recipes, great giveaways, and more. Try a free 30 day trial membership. We won't ask for a credit card.

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SPOTLIGHT

Some Of Our FavoriteTools And Toys

Surely you know somebody who loves outdoor cooking who deserves a gift for the holidays, birthday, anniversary, or just for being wonderful. There he is, right in the mirror! Here are our selections of best ideas, all Platinum or Gold Medalists, listed by price.

If you have a Weber Kettle, you need the Slow 'N' Sear

Bring The Heat With Broil King Signet's Dual Tube Burners

The Broil King Signet 320 is a modestly priced, 3-burner gas grill that packs a lot of value and power under the hood. Broil King's proprietary, dual-tube burners get hot fast and are able to achieve high, searing temps that rival most comparatively priced gas grills. The quality cast aluminum housing carries a Limited Lifetime Warranty.

The Good-One Is A Superb Grill And A Superb Smoker All In One

The Good-One Open Range is a charcoal grill with an offset smoke chamber attached. It is dramatically different from a traditional offset smoker. The grill sits low in front and doubles as a firebox for the smoke chamber which is spliced on above and behind so it can work like a horizontal offset smoker only better. By placing the heat source behind and under the smokebox instead of off to the side, Open Range produces even temperature from left to right, something almost impossible to achieve with a standard barrel shaped offset.

Griddle And Deep Fryer All In One

The flat top does the burgers and the fryer does the fries. Use the griddle for bacon, eggs, and home fries. Or pancakes, fajitas, grilled cheese, you name it. Why stink up the house deep frying and spatter all over? Do your fried chicken and calamari outside. Blackstone's Rangetop Combo With Deep Fryer does it all. Plus it has a built in cutting board, garbage bag holder, and paper towel holder. An additional work table on the left side provides plenty of counter space.

The Pit Barrel Cooker May Be Too Easy

The PBC has a rabid cult following for good reason. It is absolutely positively without a doubt the best bargain on a smoker in the world. Period. This baby will cook circles around the cheap offset sideways barrel smokers in the hardware stores because temperature control is so much easier. Best of all, it is only $299 delivered to your door!

The Swiss Army Knife Of Thermometers

The smart folks at ThermoWorks have finally done it: The Swiss Army Knife of thermometers, two in one. Start with the industry standard food thermometer, the Thermapen MK4, (Platinum Medal winner) truly instant (2 to 3 seconds) precise (+ or – 0.7°F). Then they built in an infrared thermometer ideal for measuring the temps of pizza stones, griddles, and frying pans (also great for finding leaks around doors and windows in your house).

The Cool Kettle With The Hinged Hood We Always Wanted

Their NK22CK-C Charcoal Kettle Grill puts a few spins on the familiar kettle design. In fact, the hinged lid with a handle on the front, spins in a rotary motion 180 degrees. It's hard to beat a Weber kettle, but Napoleon holds its own and adds some unique features to make the NK22CK-C a viable alternative.

G&F Suede Welder's Gloves

Heat Resistant Gloves With Extra Long Sleeves Hold The Hot Stuff

If you're using oven mitts at the grill, it's time to trade up. Say hello to these suede welder's gloves. They're heat resistant enough to handle hot grill grates, and flexible enough to handle tongs. The extra long sleeves even let you reach deep into the firebox to move hot logs without getting burned. Our Fave.

GrillGrates Take Gas Grills To The Infrared Zone

GrillGrates(TM) amplify heat, prevent flareups, make flipping foods easier, keep small foods from committing suicide, kill hotspots, are easier to clean, flip over to make a fine griddle, and can be easily removed and moved from one grill to another. You can even throw wood chips, pellets, or sawdust between the rails and deliver a quick burst of smoke to whatever is above. Every gas grill needs them.

Our Favorite Backyard Smoker

The amazing Karubecue is the most innovative smoker in the world. The quality of meat from this machine is astonishing. At its crux is a patented firebox that burns logs above the cooking chamber and sucks heat and extremely clean blue smoke into the thermostat controlled oven. It is our favorite smoker, period.

Masterbuilt MPS 340/G ThermoTemp XL Propane Smoker

The First Propane Smoker With A Thermostat Makes This Baby Foolproof

Set ThermoTemp's dial from 175° to 350°F and the thermostat inside will adjust the burner just like an indoor kitchen oven. All you need to do is add wood to the tray above the burner to start smokin'.

Professional Steakhouse Knife Set

Our founder, Meathead, wanted the same steak knives used by steakhouses such as Peter Luger, Smith & Wollensky, Morton's, Kobe Club, Palm, and many others. So he located the manufacturer and had them stamp our name on some. They boast pointed, temper-ground, serrated, high-carbon stainless-steel, half-tang blades with excellent cutting edge ability. The beefy hardwood handle provides a comfortable grip secured by three hefty rivets. He has machine washed his more than 100 times. They have never rusted and they stay shiny without polishing. Please note that we do not make, sell, or distribute these knives, they just engrave them with our name.

Is This Superb Charcoal Grill A Kamado Killer?

The PK-360, with 360 square inches of cooking space, this rust free, cast aluminum charcoal grill is durable and easy to use. Four-way venting means it's easy to set up for two zone cooking with more control than single vent Kamado grills. It is much easier to set up for 2-zone cooking than any round kamado. Beautifully designed and completely portable. Meathead says it is his preferrred grill.

Finally, A Great Portable Pellet Smoker

Green Mountain's portable Davy Crockett Pellet Smoker is one mean tailgating and picnic machine. But it's also gaining popularity with people who want to add a small, set it and forget it pellet smoker to their backyard arsenal. And with their WiFi capabilities you can control and monitor Davy Crocket from your smart phone or laptop.

Join Our Pitmaster Club And Catch Fire! Free 30 Day Trial Membership.

"I am loving the Pitmaster Club. The Doc Blonder videos rock! Collecting superb recipes. I belong to two other private clubs, but The Pitmaster Club brings me the most fun of all!"John Markus, Producer, BBQ Pitmasters TV Show

(1) Free Trial Membership

(2) Pay $23.95/year - Moneyback Guarantee

Since we were founded in 2005, AmazingRibs.com has gone from my hobby to the largest and most popular outdoor cooking website in the world with thousands of pages, several full-time employees, and many part timers. Thank you! But we were having problems making the ends meet because we are a small company without a corporate parent. At the same time, we had always wanted to create a real community that could take you to the next level. The Pitmaster Club was the solution. The Pitmaster Club is for all cooks, newbies, weekenders, competitors, even pros. In addition to being the most important revenue source that keeps an independent website alive, we return great value. Scroll down for a summary of the benefits of membership.

We can up your game! The Pitmaster Club forum is a real barbecue community, a place to learn, make friends, and have fun!

Every single day someone tells us how much the membership has done for them. Some examples:

"Mom, can Daddy cook tonite?"

"The guys in the firehouse won't let anybody else cook."

"I served her your ribs and she proposed marriage after dinner!"

Pitmaster Club members have a private message board forum to hang out in, with scores more recipes, where they can get tough questions answered, share tips and techniques, show pictures, buy, sell, trade, rave about their favorite BBQ joints, talk about smokers and grills, share competition tips, talk about their favorite drinks, and whatever else is on their minds.

This is a very special community with none of the flame wars common on other public message boards. Here's an example from a member whose name I can't reveal "My family and I have lost our home and vehicles, but not each other in the floods in Baton Rouge. Several members have reached out to me. The fact that people have been so thoughtful is very emotional for me. Thanks for everything you do and for helping me learn to be a better cook. This club is something special, and I honestly don't even know how to thank everyone."

To stay on top of things, just click the tab that says "Today's Posts". And if you ask a question you can get an email when there is a response. This is a way to really be a part of AmazingRibs.com. This is your place to connect with us and fellow Pitmaster Club members, and your 24 hour hotline to expertise.

No more ads! That means a faster site!

When members are logged in they don't see paid ads from third parties on any part of the website. Third party ads come from remote servers and they slow the page load times. Without them the site runs faster! So no more bogus diet ads and no more mortgage come-ons! And members don't see ads for the Pitmaster Club either.

Free sneak preview of Meathead's new book

Recipes, recipes, recipes!

Members post their favorite recipes in the Pitmaster Club forum and there are some pretty creative, tasty recipes. We also select some of the best and publish them on the main website, the free part of the site, so their friends and family and co-workers can see that they are now famous published recipe writers! If you dream of being a food writer, here's how to get started!

Comprehensive Giant Food Temperature Magnet

For a limited time, we are sending new paid Pitmaster Club members our new 8.5" x 11" Comprehensive Food Temperature Guide Magnet with more than 50 temperature benchmarks for meats, sugar, oil, and more. It sells for $9.95 on Amazon.com. That's 42% of the price of a membership as soon as you join!

Great Giveaways

Pitmaster Club members in the US will be entered into all 12 monthly drawings/year for valuable prizes, all of them Gold or Platinum Medal winners, including free smokers, grills, and more, average value of more than $1,000! Your odds of winning over the course of a year are only about 1 in 1,500! Click here for the complete list of prizes and click here to see previous winners.

Greg Rempe's Weekly PitCast and other interviews

The PitCast is a weekly podcast by Greg Rempe of the BBQ Central Show exclusively for members. It gives us Wagyu quality conversation featuring news and interviews from the BBQ and grilling world including competition results from across the various sanctioning bodies, a look to the week ahead with upcoming events, cooking classes, judging classes and other items of interest.

Cartoons

Enjoy the humor of cartoonist Jerry King weekly as he pokes fun at our wacky lifestyle.

Two monthly newsletters: "Smoke Signals" and "Hot From The Pit"

Every month we send members an exclusive email newsletter, "Hot From The Pit", with recipes from members and highlights of discussions from The Pitmaster Club. Members also get "Smoke Signals", our monthly email newsletter with news of new articles and recipes on the free portion of the website.

In addition, several of our members organize local Meat-Ups in BBQ joints and their own backyards around the world all year long.

Discounts on products we love

Manufacturers recognize our members as important opinion leaders in the barbecue and grilling world and often make products available to them at special prices.

Members can buy this cool Embroidered Pitmaster Club shirt

This beautifully embroidered shirt is the same one I wear in public and on TV. It's wash and wear and doesn't need ironing, but it is a soft cottonlike feel. Choice of four colors and both men's and women's.

Members can also order men's and women's T-Shirts, Sweatshirts, Aprons, Mugs, Caps, Tote Bags, Flasks, and more, all imprinted with the Pitmaster Club logo, in a variety of colors. Prices are very reasonable. There's even a spiral bound journal where you can make notes on your cooks.

Support for Operation BBQ Relief

We donate 5% all membership fees to Operation Barbecue Relief, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit disaster relief program that sends pitmasters into US disaster areas to feed the first responders and homeless. If there is a tornado or flood, they are there within hours. By joining you help support this amazing service. Click here to learn more about the remarkable work OBR does.

Support for Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves

We also donate to the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. This remarkable a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization develops and distributes high efficiency cookstoves to the needy around the world. Many are wood burning but they require much less wood than the old fashioned stoves that also filled their huts and eyes and lungs with soot. These new designs are practically smokeless. Some burn biomass such as rice husks or even dried dung and some use solar energy. Some are even manufactured locally. Some of these clever designs have come from the recreational camping world, and many have migrated the other way, into the camping world. Below is a well insulated high efficiency unit that can burn wood, biomass such as crop byproducts like corncobs, it can run on solar, and can even store enough energy to power a light or charge a cell phone. Reducing the amount of wood means less deforestation in dry areas and women spend less time collecting wood and are at less risk. Click here to read more about this remarkable organization.

Secure transaction

When you pay, your payment is secure. We never see or store credit card info. The subscription page is a portal directly to Stripe.com, a huge respected card processor that is certified to PCI Service Provider Level 1, the most stringent level of certification available. It is also GeoTrust Secured. They have never been hacked. They are far more secure than handing your credit card to a stranger in a restaurant, gas station, or a grocery store. And our privacy and security promise is as good as it gets.

Easy autorenewal

For your convenience, when the year is up, you don't have to do a thing to renew. Three weeks before your membership expires we'll send you an email asking if you want to renew. If you do, don't do a thing, you will be renewed automatically. No renewal notices and no telemarketing calls. If you don't want to renew, just click the cancel link in the email or on any page of The Pitmaster Club. But our money back guarantee extends to renewals too: If you renew and change your mind within 30 days, we will refund your money promptly, no questions asked. And remember, we never see or store credit card info! We think this is a lot better than bombarding members with emails and snailmails begging them to renew.

What some members say about the Pitmaster Club

"Everyone should join the Pitmaster Club to show your support. The yearly fee is minimal and will help this site carry on the good fight. The thing that drew me to the site was the professionalism, experience, and genuine caring of its members which is unlike any other. As I read through the questions asked, and the responses from members, there is never anything smart a$$ said and nobody is putting anybody down. The members truly care about helping others learn. This is a top notch group of people and my hat is off to Meathead and the other moderators who keep this site going." Travis

"I just spent the last couple hours watching your videos and they were amazing! I know I will be watching them again. Please keep up the great work and thank you again for a great fun and educational product."Jeff Lockwood

"I am loving the Pitmaster Club. The Doc Blonder videos rock! Collecting superb recipes. I belong to two other private clubs, but The Pitmaster Club brings me the most fun of all!"John Markus, Producer, BBQ Pitmasters TV Show

"What I have already learned is worth that cost."Adam Payne

"A great community!" Josh Peal

"What you learn in one hour on here is worth more than the fee."ontheranch

"Moments after I asked my first question, it was a professional chef from Alaska who answered me. IMPRESSIVE!" richinlbrg

"I have been on forums for years for different topics... Cooking, Jeeps, Camping, etc... There always seems to be a bit of unneeded drama and people just trying to stir things up... That doesn't occur here..."clb239

"I have also been pleasantly surprised to have made a few good friends here."Steve B

"The thing I really love is that The Pitmaster Club has taken my BBQ game to a whole new level. I’ve learned an amazing amount about fire control, good vs. bad smoke, and how to cook chicken! My ribs, brisket, etc is so much better than it was 3 years ago."Ecowper

"How much I've learned!!! There is no way in hell I'd have upped my game 5000% in a year and a half without coming here. This site is truly amazing. Plus, I love the enthusiasm here. Just awesome people, who give a shit, and want to hear about my dumb cooks. Thank you!"JCBBQ

"Professionalism, when it's required, here. If someone doesn't have the answer, you even have people do research & find the answer."FireMan

"We helped host a tailgate this past weekend and I decided to bring a brisket. I was a little nervous because 'Jack', another co-host, always brings his bbq entree that has been a tailgate favorite for the past few years. Thanks, though, to this site and everyone here - the brisket was DELICIOUS and got rave reviews including questions about 'my recipe'. You guys have changed my culinary life and I'm thankful and fatter and happier than before. No pics but trust me - you would have been proud. Muchas gracias amigos!"VanW

"After unpleasant experiences in a group on Facebook, I was struck by what a great community we have here. Everyone treats everybody with respect and is welcoming of newbies."Buck Flicks

"The Pitmaster Club has become my second family. The amount of knowledge is staggering. All coming to you from very nice and caring people. If it wasn’t for you guys and gals I would actually have to spend more time with my wife."Name withheld for obvious reasons

"The staff and members are the gold standard of how social media should be experienced." Rod

"I've learned more about BBQ in the last 5+ months than I had in my life. The Pitmaster Club is a wealth of information." Panteracfh3

"I love this place.. Not only do you get info but you get people who want to disagree in a fashion that makes sense. Thanks to the moderators for keeping this place safe and sane."tbob4

"Good hearted humor, great feedback and tips, always a helping hand when needed. Many thanks to the moderators and all members for making this one damn fine site! Worth every penny and then some!!"NoogaQ

Ode to The Pitmaster Club

From TBoneJack, now the unofficial Poet Laureate of The Pitmaster Club, this metered love letter:

AmazingRibs is where you go,To get the best advice,You'll find out how, to smoke a cow,And it will turn out nice.

They're all good, I like them fine,I'm sure they cook good Q,They've earned the right, I see the light,I'll give them their fair due,

But I have learned, thru many cooks,This web site is da bomb,For what to do, browse over to,AmazingRibs dot com.

Tired of seeing popup ads?No need to throw a fit,Don't you know, just spend some dough,And join us in the Pit.

And if you travel, don't despair,No further should you look,The answer's clear, put down your beer,And order Meathead's book.

Many merchants pay us a small referral fee when you click our links and purchase from them. On Amazon it works on everything from grills to diapers, they never tell us what you bought, and it has zero impact on the price you pay, but has a major impact on our ability to improve this site! And remember, we only recommend products we love. If you like AmazingRibs.com, please save this link and use it every time you go to Amazonhttps://tinyurl.com/amazingribs

Post comments and questions below

3) Tell us everything we need to know to help such as the type of cooker and thermometer. Dial thermometers are often off by as much as 50°F so if you are not using a good digital thermometer we probably can't help you with time and temp questions. Please read this article about thermometers.

4) If you are a member of the Pitmaster Club, your comments login is probably different.

What some members say about the Pitmaster Club

"Everyone should join the Pitmaster Club to show your support. The yearly fee is minimal and will help this site carry on the good fight. The thing that drew me to the site was the professionalism, experience, and genuine caring of its members which is unlike any other. As I read through the questions asked, and the responses from members, there is never anything smart a$$ said and nobody is putting anybody down. The members truly care about helping others learn. This is a top notch group of people and my hat is off to Meathead and the other moderators who keep this site going." Travis

"I just spent the last couple hours watching your videos and they were amazing! I know I will be watching them again. Please keep up the great work and thank you again for a great fun and educational product."Jeff Lockwood

"I am loving the Pitmaster Club. The Doc Blonder videos rock! Collecting superb recipes. I belong to two other private clubs, but The Pitmaster Club brings me the most fun of all!"John Markus, Producer, BBQ Pitmasters TV Show

"What I have already learned is worth that cost."Adam Payne

"A great community!" Josh Peal

"What you learn in one hour on here is worth more than the fee."ontheranch

"Moments after I asked my first question, it was a professional chef from Alaska who answered me. IMPRESSIVE!" richinlbrg

"I have been on forums for years for different topics... Cooking, Jeeps, Camping, etc... There always seems to be a bit of unneeded drama and people just trying to stir things up... That doesn't occur here..."clb239

"I have also been pleasantly surprised to have made a few good friends here."Steve B

"The thing I really love is that The Pitmaster Club has taken my BBQ game to a whole new level. I’ve learned an amazing amount about fire control, good vs. bad smoke, and how to cook chicken! My ribs, brisket, etc is so much better than it was 3 years ago."Ecowper

"How much I've learned!!! There is no way in hell I'd have upped my game 5000% in a year and a half without coming here. This site is truly amazing. Plus, I love the enthusiasm here. Just awesome people, who give a shit, and want to hear about my dumb cooks. Thank you!"JCBBQ

"Professionalism, when it's required, here. If someone doesn't have the answer, you even have people do research & find the answer."FireMan

"We helped host a tailgate this past weekend and I decided to bring a brisket. I was a little nervous because 'Jack', another co-host, always brings his bbq entree that has been a tailgate favorite for the past few years. Thanks, though, to this site and everyone here - the brisket was DELICIOUS and got rave reviews including questions about 'my recipe'. You guys have changed my culinary life and I'm thankful and fatter and happier than before. No pics but trust me - you would have been proud. Muchas gracias amigos!"VanW

"After unpleasant experiences in a group on Facebook, I was struck by what a great community we have here. Everyone treats everybody with respect and is welcoming of newbies."Buck Flicks

"The Pitmaster Club has become my second family. The amount of knowledge is staggering. All coming to you from very nice and caring people. If it wasn’t for you guys and gals I would actually have to spend more time with my wife."Name withheld for obvious reasons

"The staff and members are the gold standard of how social media should be experienced." Rod

"I've learned more about BBQ in the last 5+ months than I had in my life. The Pitmaster Club is a wealth of information." Panteracfh3

"I love this place.. Not only do you get info but you get people who want to disagree in a fashion that makes sense. Thanks to the moderators for keeping this place safe and sane."tbob4

"Good hearted humor, great feedback and tips, always a helping hand when needed. Many thanks to the moderators and all members for making this one damn fine site! Worth every penny and then some!!"NoogaQ

Ode to The Pitmaster Club

From TBoneJack, now the unofficial Poet Laureate of The Pitmaster Club, this metered love letter:

AmazingRibs is where you go,To get the best advice,You'll find out how, to smoke a cow,And it will turn out nice.

Our Privacy Promise, Terms of Service, Code of Ethics. AmazingRibs.com promises to never sell or distribute any info about you individually without your express permission, and we promise not to, ahem, pepper you with email or make you eat spam. We are GDPR compliant (the stringent General Data Protection Regulations from the European Union that went into effect in 2018). GDPR requires that we be willing to delete any info we have about an EU resident if you request it. We go a step further. We extend this right to anyone, EU resident or not. For more about our privacy promise, code of ethics, terms of service, and how we operate to insure you unbiased info, click here.

Contact Us. If you have questions related to barbecue or grilling, please post them to the comments section at the bottom of any page. Our talented team of paid moderators will be with you shortly. If you have business or tecnical issues, please contact us with this email form.